Unbanked.

It is planning a digital payments system run and built by the central bank that will allow Mexicans to make and receive payments through their smartphones free of charge. A pilot roll-out for the platform, known as CoDi, is expected by March.

Many lenders are using alternative data to improve their credit models and better serve the underbanked. But though this data is usually finance related, non-financial data can also be uniquely useful in reaching new customers, says Innovative Assessments CEO Saul Fine. He explores how psychometric testing can provide insights into the personal character traits that define reliable borrowers, and how this can help lenders maintain good loan performance – while serving customers whose traditional credit histories might otherwise exclude them.

Data released by Microfinance Institutions Network, a national body for non-banking finance company-micro finance institutions (NBFC-MFIs), shows that NBFC-MFIs, which focus on lending in rural India, account for the largest chunk of the loan portfolio of the microfinance industry.

Oriente races big brands to reach unbanked Indonesians, Filipinos and Vietnamese. Oriente charges roughly 3-4% monthly interest rate, while Prentice said some microlending platforms in Southeast Asia charge more than 15%. Those who pay back in instalments are eligible for a discount of 25-50% on the interest rate.

With over 520,000 previously-unbanked clients that now have “Amiga Accounts” and a $70m loan book to finance microenterprises, Banco Guayaquil’s “Banco del Barrio” is one of the pioneering and most comprehensive inclusive finance programs in Latin America, significantly expanding access to financial services in Ecuador by leveraging a network of more than 4,400 non-bank customer touchpoints across the country.

Last week, a new FDIC survey revealed that the number of unbanked U.S. households has reached the lowest point since the survey started in 2009. Meanwhile, advances in fintech and a strong overall economy suggest that the financial prospects of most Americans should be looking up. But as Center for Financial Services Innovation president Jennifer Tescher points out, the story is not that simple. In reality, she says, a massive number of Americans are struggling financially. She explores this and other troubling findings in the U.S. Financial Health Pulse, a landmark new study that aims to show the true picture of Americans’ financial lives.

Blockchain technology is currently being used to distribute aid to 100,000 Syrian refugeesby The World Food Programme. And plans for future blockchain initiatives within the U.N. alone run from ending child trafficking to providing services for women and girls in humanitarian settings.

For many, the inability to even get to a physical branch — bank branches are highly concentrated in urban areas — means that they don't have access to banking services at all. As a result, about 6.5% of American households still don't have a bank account, while another 18.7% are "underbanked" — they have an account, but also use check-cashing or payday loans. In all, over 60 million adults are unbanked or "underbanked" in this country.